"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is."

"It is."

They continued walking, following the trail of blood that led to the main room where countless bodies were being examined. Katara and Zuko tried their best not to cough out last nights dinner as they grimaced; blood splattered across the walls, a few severed limbs scattered around the broken table, a couple decapitated heads lying about, a hand sitting a few inches away from where they stood, and countless other bodies tainted with their own gooey red substance.

After multiple attempts of holding last night's dinner in, Katara looked towards Zuko when she asked – hoping the answer wasn't what she feared – "Are these people…"

"Criminals", Zuko answered, easing Katara somewhat. "According to our intelligence, they arrived in Fire Nation yesterday. They were Indians from the South who brought explosives and artillery to sell to their contact." Surveying carnage and noticing the missing weapons, Zuko couldn't help but comment, "Seems like the buyer was low on cash…"

Katara noticed the disappointed look on Zuko's face and wondered whether it was there because he wanted to prevent this or because he had a different plan, "You seem oddly disappointed."

"The deal was supposed to occur tonight, we were planning on intercepting the meeting in the hopes of capturing both the suppliers and the buyer." Finally facing his fiancé, Zuko spoke in his usual low, raspy voice in an attempt to hide the anxiety, "Looks like someone got to them before us."

Despite the situation, Katara was somewhat relieved that the bodies laid before her were that of notorious criminals, and not innocent children, men and women. However, that still didn't justify the horror that was this crime scene; no one – no matter how evil or vile – should have to experience a butchery like this. To Katara, this was a display of an individual's complete disdain for human life – to take a life in such a way… only a true monster void of emotions could commit such an act.

"He left nothing behind. No evidence of anyone matching the description was found and there are no traces that he was even here. Also, the crates are completely cleared out; all explosives and weaponry are missing." Katara was startled from her deep thoughts by an all too familiar voice. "So, where does this leave us?" Sokka asked Zuko as he walked up to him, having just finished analysing the crime scene for any clues that'd indicate the mystery man's identity, motive or next move.

Sighing in annoyance due to the situation, Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose as he answered, "Back to square one – we don't know who the buyer is, and now we can't even question these men for answers." Looking towards Sokka now, Zuko narrowed his eyes as he continued, "We need to focus on the man who did this. Get an artist to draw an image of the killer based off the what the witnesses described. Once all the evidence here is gathered and we at least have an idea of who this person is, we'll devise a plan to stop him."

"Your engagement party's in a couple days, Zuko. You don't need to be stressing about this right now." Patting his soon to be brother-in-law in the back, Sokka led both Zuko and Katara outside while protesting, "Go back to the Palace and get some rest. Spend some time with your fiancé, relax and get some sleep – let me handle this. Its been a while a case as interesting as this has fallen under my jurisdiction and my detective brain is itching at the bits to solve this mystery!" Sokka exclaimed as Zuko and Katara's chariot arrived.

Chuckling at her brother's antics, Katara stepped in and took a seat, followed by Zuko who nodded at Sokka and left the crime scene feeling somewhat relaxed already.

"Who the fuck stole my weapons!?"

General Fang was irate; in the one instance where nothing should have gone wrong, the absolute worst occurred, and now he demanded answers.

"No one knows exactly who he is, sir. Witnesses say he wore clown-like make up: white face paint, black eyes, red smile, red hair, black tactical robes. So far, that's all we know of him."

"Well, that's not fucking good enough!" General Fang slammed his hands on his desk as he stood up. The walls of his office reverberated every frequency that came after, "Find out exactly who this clown is and bring him to me! Otherwise, you'll be wishing it was the clown who dealt with you and not me."

As his assistant was about to leave, a sudden voice emerged from behind them, "Oh, there's no need for that… for I have come to you myself."

There, by the door to his office, stood the man who had severely hindered his plan, and the General felt a somewhat odd presence surrounding the unknown clown. However, he had to seem confident if he was to maintain control of this situation, so – ignoring the uneasiness coursing through his veins – the General walked around his desk while the man stepped into his office and closed the door behind him.

"So, you're the one who fucked with my plan." No response was given, which made the General feel even more uncomfortable, although he didn't show it as he continued, "Well, you just signed your own death warrant by showing up here."

As General Fang was about to move back to his desk to call his soldiers to detain the man, Amon suddenly shifted as he took a seat on one of the chairs across from the General's desk. While seating himself, Amon commented, "You call your soldiers here to detain me, and my friend won't hesitate to put a bullet through your head right now."

Highly doubting Amon's baseless threat, General Fang was prepared to follow through with his own threat until he noticed a red dotted laser travelling across his desk. Realisation suddenly hit him when he turned around and noticed the dotted laser was aimed at his head. So, naturally, he leaned forward and looked out the window of his office room, searching for the origin of said laser. Not long after, his vision fell upon a masked man on a rooftop across from his office. The General's eyes widened when he noticed the scoped sniper trained on him, and as he turned back around to face Amon – who was now smirking devilishly – the General knew he could not continue with his threat. So, sighing in defeat, he ordered his assistant to lower the gun that was aimed at Amon while taking a seat on his office chair.

"Who are you?"

"You're asking the wrong question General." Amon deadpanned, leaning forward while his elbows rested on his knees.

"I don't care. You came to me, and you will answer me."

Sighing in annoyance, Amon stared General Fang directly in the eye as he spoke nonchalantly, "I'm the man who killed your murderous contacts, stole your artillery… and left you with nothing but your dick in your hand."

Eyes widening in anger, the General slammed his fist on his desk again as he yelled, "How dare you speak to me like that! I am The General Fang you fucking clown, and I will not be treated –"

"Oh, shut the fuck up", Amon sighed as he leaned back on his seat, arms folded, his face adorning such a bored and emotionless expression that Mai herself would be proud. "I am the one with all the artillery, and I am literally holding your life in my hands as we speak… I have the power here. Not you." Suddenly, Amon stood up, towering over the General as he soke menacingly, "So, I suggest you sit the fuck down and stop playing with your life."

General Fang hesitantly complied as he dipped his head in defeat and settled back down into his seat. Not daring enough to meet Amon's gaze yet, the General remained quiet while Amon sat back down and continued speaking, "Now, despite what you may think – I am here to help you." This caught Fang's attention as his head shot up slowly while Amon continued, "I know you want to be Fire Lord, and I know how you plan to do it. And let me tell you, killing him is not the answer." For a moment there, the General pondered on exactly how Amon knew of his plan, but he decided he'd search for the mole within his ranks later on. "Killing Zuko will only make him a martyr, and whichever Fire Nation General isn't already in your pocket will only become more supportive of him. Now that he's engaged, they'll surely back the soon to be Fire Lady – who will take control of the Fire Nation instead of you."

"That is why I wanted to eliminate them both before their marriage…" Fang commented.

"I have a better plan. I can make you Fire Lord without killing Zuko." Fang's eyes widened in curiosity as Amon clarified, "Killing Zuko and his fiancé might do the opposite of what you're trying to achieve; the Fire Nation doesn't need the death of another Fire Lord to bring it to its knees. Look around you General, children are being slaughtered, wives are being made widows, the Fire Nation is already on the brink of collapse. Offing Zuko will only strengthen their resolve and whatever bullshit he preaches will become their prayer."

Fang pondered on everything Amon mentioned, and he had to admit he was correct. Yet, before he saw no other way. Zuko was nothing like Ozai, and although that was a positive, it also had its downsides; he was often indecisive and unwilling to punish those who deserved to be punished. His approach to governing was to offer a lending hand, and due to this, criminals took advantage as most soldiers were sent overseas to aid in the restoration of the world – thus leaving many villages and cities in the Fire Nation defenceless. So, Fang decided to send the remainder of his available men overseas as well while also offering criminals the ammunition required to tear the Fire Nation apart. 'If he won't govern with a closed fist, then I'll destroy the notion of the peaceful Nation he attempts to achieve and take over once he's dead' – was General Fang's philosophy. However, now recognising the clear holes in his plan, Fang listened intently to exactly what Amon was offering before he made any rash commitments.

"We don't need to kill the Fire Lord to destroy the will of the Fire Nation – we simply need to expose Zuko for the coward he is. We need to show the people how his approach to governing has devastated the Fire Nation to the point of collapse. After we slip the doubt into their minds, we will deliver one final blow… and they'll all… go… mad." Amon delivered his words slowly and menacingly, not averting his eyes away from the General's, "You see General, madness as we know it, is like gravity; all it takes is a little… push." For a moment there, Amon began laughing hysterically – causing the General to become more uncomfortable and fearful before he finally controlled himself and continued, "We won't need to do anything except appeal to the council; they'll have no choice but to agree to remove Zuko as Fire Lord – and if they don't, then the people will do our jobs for us. Riots, protests and random acts of violence will force the elected Generals to act, and if they still don't, then the people will eat them alive." Slowly standing up, Amon once again towered over General Fang, his hands holding him up as he leaned over the desk while hunched over. He spoke in a low, menacing voice, "The Fire Nation will self-destruct… and from the ashes of their world, we'll build a better one."

For a few good moments, Fang pondered on what he should do. If he denied Amon then he could lose his life, right then and there. Not to mention that even if he did some how make it out alive, his artillery was still missing, and Amon was the only one who knew of it's location. Amon had to be kept alive – for now at least. Yet, his plan did sound simple and promising; it would take little to no effort to turn the public against Zuko as they were already half-way there. Also, it won't be difficult to deal with Amon once I become Fire Lord, General Fang thought to himself.

"What do you need me to do?"

The red painted smile on his face was reinforced when Amon grinned sinisterly in response to General Fang's submission.

When the sun fell in the Fire Nation, Zuko sat up groggily from his bed as he slipped on his robes. Hoping to spend some time with his fiancé – something he hadn't done much of since she arrived – Zuko hoped he could help ease her into their new relationship without giving away how eager he was to experience what the Avatar had all those years ago.

Ever since the war ended, Zuko's relationship with Katara seemed to grow to the point where he developed a minor crush on the waterbender. However, that minor affection eventually grew and grew, leading the Fire Lord to become somewhat bitter towards the Avatar as Zuko longed to have something he couldn't. Yet, when Aang had to travel from the Earth Kingdom to Fire Nation to Northern Water Tribe and back – in rotation – for an entire year, Zuko couldn't help but wonder what it may lead to. Despite this, he was immensely surprised when Hakoda offered Zuko his daughter's hand in marriage – while also wanting many other things in return. Details were important but they'll be revealed in other chapters, you'll have to wait – either way, Aang and Katara's relationship only seemed to deteriorate from then on. It took some convincing on Hakoda's part, but eventually Katara agreed. And now, she was here.

Walking through the hallways in search of his fiancé, Zuko found her sitting idly by the pond in the Royal Gardens. He took a moment to marvel at her beauty; the full moon only seemed to further glisten her smooth tan skin and highlight her nice curves. She had definitely grown from a cute girl to an attractive woman since the war, and now this highly attractive woman was in his home, due to be married… to him.

"You can stop staring now, Zuko." Katara stated, sounding rather bored and unimpressed.

Blushing due the embarrassment of being caught ogling, Zuko shifted to sit down beside her. "Sorry, but you're too beautiful to not notice."

Katara rolled her eyes at Zuko's attempt to flirt with her and Zuko was highly disappointed. Whenever Aang used to say things like this Katara would always either blush, giggle, laugh, playfully shove him, hug him, or kiss him – or all of the above. With Zuko however, she seemed uninterested at best. Still, he didn't give up.

"So, umm – uhhh y-you -", despite being the Fire Lord, Zuko was still the awkward, anti-social, downer everyone knew him to be. However, he was like this especially around people he held a certain type of affection for, these said people being Mai – his ex-girlfriend – and now Katara.

"H-how are you – uhh… liking the Fire Nation so far, Katara?" Zuko asked, offering her an awkward smile only he could pull off.

Softly sighing – since she wanted to spend this night alone to collect her thoughts – Katara decided she might as well try to build her relationship with him, seeing how he was her fiancé. "Its… alright. I guess. Not too different from the Southern Water Tribe; only I feel like a boiled turkey here instead of a frozen sea prune."

It wasn't really funny per-say, but Zuko still offered her an awkward laugh, which – as expected – sounded forced and caused her to roll her eyes once again. Zuko saw her roll her eyes and he opted to stop trying too hard – clearly it wasn't working. Then he thought, what would Aang do?

Aang would offer her a goofy smile – one only he could pull off. Aang would offer her a cheery laugh – one only he could deliver. Aang would offer her loving words – words that were genuine and free of any ulterior motives. Aang would lift her sour mood by cracking jokes – some horrible and some intricate – either way, the only way she'd respond is by giggling or laughing. Aang would embrace her in a comfortable hug – one she had grown accustomed to and longed to experience every day. Aang would tilt her chin up to kiss her – pulling her away from her worries, flushing her mind with peace and bliss – something only he had the authority and ability to do as she would not let anyone else near. Aang would offer her his hand and take her for a late-night flight on Appa, or propose waterbending practice, or pull her into a slow dance.

As Zuko thought on, he knew that everything Aang would do – Zuko simply could not. He couldn't give her a goofy smile or cheery laugh without it being awkward and forced. Zuko couldn't offer her loving words or crack jokes as he wasn't one to talk about feelings and he certainly wasn't renowned for his sense of humour – or lack thereof. Zuko definitely could not hug her now; before, when they were friends, it would only be regarded as a friendly hug, so it would be okay. Now however, since they were engaged, it would be different. And he certainly couldn't take her for a ride on Appa, or propose waterbending practice, or kiss her. Not at this stage; if she wouldn't even openly talk to him, then why would she allow him to kiss her. She wouldn't, right?

'Actually, maybe I just need to be bold and kiss her. That way she'll know how much I want this, and if she likes it, she won't stop me.' Zuko proposed in his head. However, the fact that Katara was facing away from him only threw a wrench in his plan. Yet, he remained persistent.

"Katara, why aren't you talking to me?"

Raising an eyebrow, Katara turned her head to face Zuko and gave him a confused look, "I am."

"Not like how we used to," Zuko fired back, attempting to break down the wall she had knowingly placed between them.

"Things are different now."

"How so?"

"We're engaged, Zuko." Katara added with a 'are you seriously asking me this' expression.

"We're still friends though, right?" Zuko asked, hoping she wouldn't deflect or avoid the topic.

"Us being engaged complicates things," she replies and tries to get up – not wanting to or even ready to have this conversation yet.

Zuko however, didn't want to let her leave without a definitive answer or idea as to why she's so distant to him, so he moves to a more sensitive topic. "Does this have anything to do with Aang?"

Katara's eyes narrowed as she glared at Zuko while settling back down. They had silently agreed to not mention the airbender for a while, and even though she knew it was impossible, Katara still felt angered he would bring up a touchy subject just to get her to stay. Him using Aang against her didn't sit well with her, but she didn't have an immediate reply as she herself didn't know if her feelings for Aang were still as strong as before.

"Katara, he cheated on you, you shouldn't even be thinking of him – much less allow him to continuously confuse you."

"You don't get to tell me what I should be doing." Katara threatened, glaring at Zuko before she eventually softened upon thinking of her previous love, "And I'm still not sure if he cheated on me or not. Noting's confirmed."

Sighing in annoyance – even though he knew what he was about to say wasn't the whole truth or even close to it – Zuko fought to win her over at the expense of the Avatar, "Katara, he ignored you and your letters for an entire year, all while flirting with other girls in the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Northern Water Tribe. If that's not cheating, then please, enlighten me."

Katara wanted to fight back, but she had no answer. She understood the logic in Zuko's argument, but something about this whole situation seemed fishy to her. It was safe to say that she knew Aang better than he knew himself, and she knew the kind of person he was: kind, gentle, compassionate, understanding, thoughtful, charming, and loyal. Above all else, he was loyal – loyal to his loved ones and loyal to the world – most of all, loyal to her. His loyalty – alongside his undying love for her – was part of the reason she chose to love him out of all the boys swooning over her in the first place; she knew he would never cheat on her or leave her for someone else. She knew her Aang….

However, now Katara doubted her own understanding of the airbender as he had spent an entire year seemingly ignoring her while travelling around the world with other women following him around. Her father seemed adamant that Aang was just using her and that she should cut him loose. Her father told her Aang was just stringing her along and would break her heart the moment he returned, that is, if he ever did return. Her father was sure… no, he was certain that Zuko would treat her right and by accepting his proposal, she'd also be helping him with maintaining the peace in the Southern Water Tribe. He, however, chose to gloss over that part; not daring to go over the details of his arrangement with Zuko and other Council Members. So, Katara practically had no choice; with her Father guilt tripping her, her own loneliness suppressing her, and Aang's supposed unfaithfulness crushing her will, Katara adhered to her Father's wishes.

"Look, I know heart break isn't something easy to get over – I know you loved him… a lot. But he chose to abandon you, and he's a fool for doing so." Finding some courage within him, Zuko slightly leaned in while brushing his fingers against Katara's cheeks. She at first recoiled, but soon settled down as Zuko continued speaking and leaning in, "I'm here, Katara. I'm here for you." Leaning in further, Zuko closed his eyes, hoping Katara was reciprocating his actions.

Although she thought it was too soon for this, Katara knew that maybe this could help her get over Aang, maybe Zuko was right – she thought. So, she began leaning in too – albeit rather hesitantly. "I won't lie to you." Zuko added softly, his face drawing closer to Katara's as she began closing her eyes as well, "I won't leave you…"

Just as their lips were about to touch, Katara thought of Aang and thought of retreating – it was then that their lips met. It was soft, but Zuko couldn't feel her kissing back. So, he decided to be bolder and ran his tongue along her lip. Since Katara had only ever kissed Aang, she didn't really have much to compare this kiss to. However, she and Aang shared many kisses… and more… and though Zuko wasn't necessarily a bad kisser; he was pretty good at it all things considered. She still didn't feel even a fraction of delight, peace, bliss, longing, love – or anything of the sort when kissing him. And it was when she felt his tongue protruding against her lips that she recognised this was already going way too far, so she opted to pull back. However, just as she was beginning to retreat, they were both pulled away from the kiss by Sokka's hysterical screams, "Katara! Look! Up there!"

Where did he even come from? Katara questioned, before she stood on her feet and glanced at where Sokka was pointing – leaving Zuko with both a lovestruck and disappointed look on his face. Although she couldn't see it at first, the outline of an airbender gliding towards them became clearer as he closed the distance between them. Her breath hitched in her throat when she realised exactly who was approaching them, and although Zuko did ask him to come – noticing Katara's awestruck expression – he now wished he could go back in time and slap himself for ever thinking of inviting him over.

As the airbender landed in the Royal Gardens, he was instantly enveloped in a bear hug by Sokka – who didn't let go until Aang mentioned that he couldn't breathe. Releasing him from his tight prison, Sokka stepped aside and allowed Katara to get a good look at the boy she fell in love with – a boy who was now a dashing 19-year-old teenager – and in doing so, her breath once again hitched in her throat. The only thing that came out of her mouth in that moment, as he smiled his charming smile at her, was the one name she hadn't spoken out-loud since their breakup:

"Aang?"

TheQuietReader23: I'm glad you liked it, and I know it may seem confusing as to why Amon is acting the way he is, but it will all make sense... soon. Zuko's reasons will also soon be revealed, and in the later chapters, you'll probably begin to wonder how exactly this story took a turn for the worst (or best, depending on how you see it) :)

Destraumis1: I'm glad you like it and I appreicate you taking the time to review, I hope you like this chapter as well as all the others.

Ashley Barbosa: Yes, I am into Aang being a dark character as I feel he'd be a complete chad and just Unstoppable if he was. Aang doesn't have two identies per say - like, its not a split personality - but you'll understand soon. And yes, it may be confusing to others so I'll clarify now: This is a Canon AU where technology is slightly more advanced than it is in the Original Show, hence why there's guns. There's also another reason as to why there's more modern weaponry in this story but that'll be explained later as it'll be a spoiler if I mention it now.